Kolkata: A week after city pet lovers protested the neglect of stray dogs inside the Banabitan in Salt Lake, notices displayed on a board prohibiting feeding of stray animals inside the park were removed on Friday.
There are about 35 stray dogs inside Banabitan, popularly known as Central Park and many of them were left to starve.
In Sept, 2022 several notices were put up inside the park that said: “All park visitors are hereby informed that feeding of stray animals like dogs, cats etc on the park premises is strictly prohibited.Any visitor interested in feeding such animals is requested to feed them outside the park premises near the parking slot.”
“The notices have been temporarily removed. We will meet the two parties again and try to find out a possible solution after a consensus and issue fresh guidelines on stray feeding at Banabitan,” said Ram Prasad Badana, deputy conservator of forests (DCF), urban recreation forestry division.
Last week, the ranger of Banabitan said the rules were imposed after objections from some morning walkers. Pet lovers are happy with the action by the park authority.
“I attended a meeting with the DCF on Tuesday and the outcome was fruitful,” said Sohini Adhikari, an advocate and a pet lover.
On Monday, she sent an email regarding the condition of the strays to animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, who suggested her to meet the DCF as her representative.
“I have news that the strays inside Banabitan are now being fed by forest staff thrice a day,” added Adhikari.